Electronic devices are sometimes packaged in plastic, molded housings. These housings may be produced by a private vendor and shipped to a production facility, where the electronic device is assembled. Prior to final assembly, a variety of foreign matter, such as dust and dirt, may enter the housing, resulting in a defect. In the case of a paging device, the housing may include a clear lens for viewing information on a display device; e.g. a liquid crystal display. Prior to the final assembly, the lens usually requires cleaning to remove the foreign material that has accumulated during shipping and handling. The cleaning process is time consuming and frequently results in a permanent defect (i.e. scratches) requiring replacement of the entire lens. Furthermore, the cleaning process cannot easily be performed by robots.
Prior attempts to solve this problem have included placing the housing in a plastic bag. However, the housing is generally removed from the plastic bag prior to placement in a manufacturing environment. In an automated factory, the bag must be removed to enable handling of the housing by robots or other apparatus. Therefore, in both a manual and robotic manufacturing environment, the housing may be exposed to foreign particle intrusion for extended periods of time (e.g., assembly line shutdowns, etc). Therefore, what is needed is a technique for preventing foreign matter intrusion into the housing of an electronic device prior to final assembly.